Howard Edwin "John" Mills (June 23, 1930 – January 16, 2016) was a Canadian writer, professor of medieval literature and publisher of novels and essays.
Mills was born in London, England in 1930 to working-class parents. [1] He went to high school in Sutton, just south of the city. He won a Surrey Agricultural scholarship to The University of Wales at Bangor, but spent most his time mountain climbing and did not graduate.
Mills worked in Scandinavia for a few months, then was conscripted into the British Army in 1950 and served two years, one of them in Germany. He got a job in England as a technical writer, and the immigrated to Canada in 1952. He worked at various jobs, including encyclopaedia salesman and technical writer, and then he became a radar installer first on the Mid-Canada Line, then on the DEW-Line in the Canadian Arctic. He moved to Montreal in 1959 and worked as a tutor and a laundryman.
Mills married in 1960 and moved to Vancouver in 1961, and attended the University of British Columbia. In 1964 he received a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship at Stanford University where he completed a master's degree. In 1965 he finished his graduate work at Stanford and got a job at the then newly opened Simon Fraser University. In 1969 he was an assistant professor of English.
Mills wrote a number of novels and essays, and through part-time studies at the Vancouver School of Theology he received a Master's of Theological Studies degree in 1988. He served as a professor of medieval literature at Simon Fraser until his retirement in 1995 as a Professor Emeritus. [2] In 2014 he lived in Vancouver. Mills died January 16, 2016. [3]
Some of his essays and books include: The Land of Is (1972), [4] The October Men, Skevington’s Daughter, [5] [6] Runner in the Dark (1992), Lizard in the Grass, [7] [8] Thank your mother for the Rabbits (1993). [1]
Much of his material is more fully available in his book of autobiographical essays called "Thank your mother for the Rabbits". This book was shortlisted for the Hubert Evans Non-fiction Prize in 1994. [9] [10]
Howard Edwin "John" Mills (June 23, 1930 – January 16, 2016) was a Canadian writer, professor of medieval literature and publisher of novels and essays.
Mills was born in London, England in 1930 to working-class parents. [1] He went to high school in Sutton, just south of the city. He won a Surrey Agricultural scholarship to The University of Wales at Bangor, but spent most his time mountain climbing and did not graduate.
Mills worked in Scandinavia for a few months, then was conscripted into the British Army in 1950 and served two years, one of them in Germany. He got a job in England as a technical writer, and the immigrated to Canada in 1952. He worked at various jobs, including encyclopaedia salesman and technical writer, and then he became a radar installer first on the Mid-Canada Line, then on the DEW-Line in the Canadian Arctic. He moved to Montreal in 1959 and worked as a tutor and a laundryman.
Mills married in 1960 and moved to Vancouver in 1961, and attended the University of British Columbia. In 1964 he received a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship at Stanford University where he completed a master's degree. In 1965 he finished his graduate work at Stanford and got a job at the then newly opened Simon Fraser University. In 1969 he was an assistant professor of English.
Mills wrote a number of novels and essays, and through part-time studies at the Vancouver School of Theology he received a Master's of Theological Studies degree in 1988. He served as a professor of medieval literature at Simon Fraser until his retirement in 1995 as a Professor Emeritus. [2] In 2014 he lived in Vancouver. Mills died January 16, 2016. [3]
Some of his essays and books include: The Land of Is (1972), [4] The October Men, Skevington’s Daughter, [5] [6] Runner in the Dark (1992), Lizard in the Grass, [7] [8] Thank your mother for the Rabbits (1993). [1]
Much of his material is more fully available in his book of autobiographical essays called "Thank your mother for the Rabbits". This book was shortlisted for the Hubert Evans Non-fiction Prize in 1994. [9] [10]